Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything else used in this story. There is some stuff I made up, but that's it.

Sora leaned back in his chair, occasionally glancing out the window of the gummi ship to admire the infinite beauty that space had to offer. They had been flying for hours now and he was very tired. He hadn't had the chance to get much shut-eye since he'd gotten onboard. He wasn't the only one.

In the seat next to him, sound asleep, was Kairi. Not too long ago he had rescued her from the clutches of the Nobodies, and he was happy to be reunited with her once again. He was determined not to lose her ever again.

Piloting the ship was Sora's best friend, Riku. They had known each other for as long as Sora could remember. Even after Riku had betrayed him, Sora and Riku's bond was too strong to be broken and Sora was able to bring him back to the light.

Sora gave a big yawn. "How much further to Radiant Garden?", he asked.

"We should be coming up soon, now pipe down, I'm trying to concentrate," Riku answered, grumpily. He had been flying since they left, and wanted to get there quick so that he could get off of this stupid ship. He didn't really like flying. "Why don't you wake up her majesty there."

Sora shrugged, then leaned over to Kairi to give a her gentle shake. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she stretched her arms a little. "Good morning," she said, smiling and turning to Sora. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost!." he answered with his signature grin. "It's about time too. I'm getting cabin fever!", he joked. Kairi giggled at his antics. But then his face grew serious. "So how do you feel about going back home?"

Her smile faded a bit. "Radiant Garden is where I was born," Kairi said, looking down. Sora frowned. He shouldn't have said anything. "But my real home is Destiny Islands," Sora said, perking up, "and it always will be," she said, smiling at Sora, who smiled back.

"Yeesh, spare me from this disgusting emotional dribble, I'm trying to drive a ship here," Riku shouted from the pilot seat. Sora and Kairi stuck their tongues out at him. "We're coming up on Radiant Garden now."

"Why do you think the King wanted us to come back here?" Kairi asked.

"Who knows?", Sora replied, reclining in his chair, hands behind his head. "Whatever it is, it's got to be important for him to call us all. As long as I get to see Donald and Goofy again, it doesn't matter."

Riku tensed up in the pilot seat saying "Well, we've got to be ready, whatever it is." Sora and Kairi both gave a grim nod.

Riku pulled the ship out of the gummi warp, the world of Radiant Garden just ahead of them. After being there so many times, Sora knew the coordinates off by heart. When he had last been there, the city was still being repaired by Leon and the Restoration Committee. Riku had also been there before, back when it was called Hollow Bastion, back when he had betrayed everyone. Sora and Kairi had both forgiven him, yet he still felt guilty for his past actions. But being in the dark so long had made him stronger, gave him new abilities, heightened his senses.

Maybe that's how he immediately knew that something was very wrong.

"Sora?" Riku called.

"I wonder how Leon is doing? Maybe he actually cheered up after we helped get rid of Organization IIIX." Sora said, completely oblivious to Riku's distress.

"Sora?" Riku called a little louder .

"I can't wait to see Aerith and Yuffie," Kairi put in, also not hearing Riku. "Those two sure were fun. It's nice to have girlfriends to talk too every now and then."

"What's wrong with me and Riku?" asked Sora, a little miffed.

"Lets see, between the burping and the butt scratching, you tell me."

"HEY, KEY BOY!" Riku shouted

"Huh?" Sora asked, finally noticing a now fuming Riku. "What's up?"

"The ceiling. Now, when was the last time we were here?"

"Hmm," Sora tried to count back. They defeated Xemnas and returned to the islands months ago, with Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey going back to their castle. After that, it was just rest and relaxation, until they received the letter from the King, instructing them to meet him at Radiant Garden. "About six months. Why?"

"Because I don't think that those were there before." He answered pointing out the cockpit window. Confused, Sora looked where he was pointing, and his confused expression immediately turned into a startled one. Now orbiting Radiant Garden were several battleships, each one large enough to hold an army. They were massive in size, shaped like daggers, and each powered by three large booster engines at the rear. On the command bridge of each ship, two large spheres jutted out on each side of the top. The most dreadful thing that Sora noticed was that they were armed to the teeth with laser cannons.

"What the heck?" he exclaimed.

"Who are they?" Kairi asked, now looking at the very imposing ships.

No sooner had she asked when the communications voice box suddenly crackled to life and a clear voice with an unrecognizable accent came through. "Attention unidentified vessel, please transmit your identification code."

"Our what?" a now confused Riku asked.

"Repeat, please transmit your identification code, or we will be forced to take action."

"What do you think they mean by action?" Kairi asked.

Her question was answered with a laser blast that knocked the gummi ship around, as well as its passengers. "I've really got to stop asking these stupid questions!"screamed Kairi as she, Sora and Riku tumbled around in the ship now being pelted mercilessly with laser fire.

Riku struggled to control the now plummeting ship. They were out of firing range of the battleships but no matter how much he tried he could not stop their ship from crashing, as it now careened towards Radiant Garden. "It's no good I can't pull up!" They were coming through the clouds and the city was now visible, and it was coming at them at an alarming rate.

Sora noticed this, and didn't want anyone on the ground getting hurt. "Riku!" he called "Steer away from the city!"

"Easier said then done!" Riku called back. Firmly grasping the steering wheel, Riku used all of his strength to turn the free falling ship toward the desolate wastelands outside the city. Unfortunately, he discovered that it was no longer a wasteland, but a luscious forest blooming with life. "There's nowhere clear to land. Brace for impact!"

Sora threw himself protectively over Kairi who also latched onto him, while Riku gripped his chair tightly. Their gummi ship crash landed straight into the forest, plowing down anything that got in the way.

When they finally came to a complete stop, they had left a trail of smashed and uprooted trees a mile long. The ship itself was a complete mess. The cockpit was smashed, one of the wings had curled up and the other was half of the ship was a mile down the newly made trail.

Riku took in all of this as he wobbled his way out of the wreckage. "Sora? Kairi? Are you guys alright?"

Sora slowly made his way out, helping Kairi out, too "I'm okay." he called back.

"I'm a little shaken up, but otherwise I'm okay, too," said Kairi.

Riku gave a sigh of relief. "That's good, now would someone tell me what the hell is going on? Who were those guys and why were they shooting at us?" Sora and Kairi could only bow their heads. "I don't believe this. We save the universe and they shoot at us! When I get my hands on whoever's responsible I'm gonna shove my Keyblade up their..."

He never got to finish as he heard the click of a rifle. They all turned toward the sound. From the surrounding trees emerged several people in stark white armor, wearing helmets with black eye holes that concealed their faces. All of them were armed with blaster rifles pointing straight at the group. Whoever they were, they sure didn't look friendly. Before they knew it, they were surrounded. Sora, Kairi and Riku each stood back to back. At gunpoint there was no way Sora and Riku could summon their Keyblades fast enough without the strange soldiers turning them into Swiss cheese. For now, they were at their mercy.

One of the soldiers, presumably the leader, walked forward and addressed them. His voice was rough, but the words he spoke were clear:

"In the name of the Galactic Empire, you are all under arrest."

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